I respectfully disagree.
Most professional websites these days are a combination of HTML, CSS (which is used extensively), a scripting language that talks to the server like PHP and a scripting language that runs on the client to do cool stuff like Javascript but encapsulated into an easier to use library like Jquery. This combination allows Flash like effects that can run on devices that don't support Flash, like tablets.
It is a lot to learn.
For a portfolio site, I would recommend something like Wordpress or Squarespace or if your needs are less, Tumblr.
I don't really think it's practical for the average user to learn HTML particularly as a portfolio site will likely store photos in a database, so you'll need a language that can talk to the database to get the photos in and out.
I think there are actually, if anything, too many options. You just need to pick one that meets your needs.
I wrote the content management system that I use on my own site but if I were revising it today, I would use one of the pre-made solutions and customize it.
As it is, I find Tumblr so easy to use that I tend to update that site much more frequently than my portfolio site.
I hope that is helpful.
Coding is fun and challenging but I think unless you have a specific need for something that doesn't exist elsewhere (always a good motivation), it's a big task just to put up a photo site.
